Man pays £43,000 for bomber flight
A British man has paid more than £43,000 for a seat on board a Second World War bomber.
While most people would like a comfortable seat on a long transatlantic flight, Matthew Munson has opted for a cold, uncomfortable journey that will take four days.
The 34-year-old IT entrepreneur will be one of the eight-man crew that will bring a Second World War Lancaster bomber 3,700 miles to the UK from Canada after winning an auction for the seat on eBay.
The bomber is coming to Britain for a month-long tour that will see it fly alongside the world's only other airworthy Lancaster, which is owned by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Words:PA
Mr Munson, from Henley-on-Thames, said: "I wasn't sure if it was genuine at first but thought I'd give it a go.
"The bidding was at 79,000 Canadian dollars and I'd set myself a limit of 83,000 dollars so I entered that amount but then got a message from eBay saying they needed to verify the bid because it was such a large amount of money.
"I put in a final bid of 79,100 dollars just two minutes before it closed and was a bit stunned when I got a call from the museum in Canada a few minutes later to say I'd won!
"I love all things mechanical whether it's planes, trains or cars. As long as it has an engine I'm interested.
"The history that comes with the Lancaster Bomber is amazing and I feel very privileged to be a part of the tour.
"It's not going to be a comfortable journey - probably very cold and we'll be flying for six hours a day, but I can't deny it's a dream come true."
Mr Munson, who has a private pilot's licence, will join the team bringing the four-engine heavy bomber over from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario.
His winning bid will help finance the tour, which is also being backed by Thwaites, brewers of Lancaster Bomber ale.
It will leave Canada on August 4 on a journey that will take it via Keflavik, Iceland.
The museum's chief executive, David Rohrer, said: "We're thrilled that Matthew will be joining us on this incredible journey - we can't promise him a luxurious flight and whilst we won't be able to offer any in-flight movies, there will be an incredible one going on outside!"
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